One or more embodiments of the invention relate generally to an enterprise Internet Protocol private branch exchange (IP-PBX), and, in particular, to methods and apparatus related to an interface device configured to control signals between an IP-PBX and an endpoint.
IP-PBX's are typically configured to process calls initiated by an endpoint (e.g., wireline phone and cell phone) based on a finite set of standard and proprietary session control protocols and/or media signal protocols. Consequently, an IP-PBX may not be able to process a call initiated by an endpoint that operates based on a set of session control protocols and/or media signal protocols that is not compatible with the IP-PBX. In other words, the IP-PBX may not be able to perform one or more per-call services (e.g., call forwarding) and per-device services (e.g., per-endpoint registration) for the endpoint. Even if an IP-PBX is configured such that the IP-PBX is compatible with a set of endpoints, implementing both per-call services and per-devices services for the set of endpoints can be inefficient or limited in feature functionality. For example, per-device services that are processor intensive can dominate the computing resources of the IP-PBX and reduce the ability of the IP-PBX to efficiently implement per-call services. Thus, a need exists for a method and apparatus for processing and interworking signals exchanged between an IP-PBX and an endpoint.